A Few Things to Think About
by James Glaser
February 11, 2008

This first one comes from YAHOO NEWS, dated Feb. 3, 2008.

Baghdad is drowning in sewage, thirsty for water and largely powerless, an Iraqi official said on Sunday in a grim assessment of services in the capital five years after the U.S.-led invasion.

It is supposed to be a war crime if an attacking country bombs the civilian infrastructure of a country. We, the United States, bombed Iraq's electrical generating plants, their water purifying plants, and their sewage treatment plants. Over five years later, none of them has been repaired to pre-war capacity.

This is what the foreign press is writing about John McCain. This quote comes from The Independent, in Britain.

Hari writes of McCain: "Rage seems to be at the core of his personality. Describing his own childhood, McCain has written: 'At the smallest provocation I would go off into a mad frenzy, and then suddenly crash to the floor unconscious. When I got angry I held my breath until I blacked out.

Many Democrats believe that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will bring America back to where we were before George Bush was elected. Here is something to think on:

FactCheck: Promised to repeal Patriot Act, then voted for it

Clinton took direct aim at Obama and connects fairly solidly: "You said you would vote against the Patriot Act; you came to the Senate, you voted for it." Clinton is correct to say that Obama opposed the Patriot Act during his run for the Senate. She's relying on a 2003 Illinois National Organization for Women questionnaire in which Obama wrote that he would vote to "repeal the Patriot Act" or replace it with a "new, carefully crafted proposal." When it came time to reauthorize the law in 2005, though, Obama voted in favor of it. He started out opposing it: In Dec. 2005, Obama voted against ending debate—a position equivalent to declaring a lack of support for the measure. Then in February of that year, Obama said on the floor that he would support the Patriot Act's reauthorization. In March 2006, Obama both voted for cloture and for the Patriot Act reauthorization conference report.

Clinton, by the way, followed exactly the same path on the 2005 bill, from speaking in opposition to voting for it.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Facebook/WMUR-NH Democratic debate Jan 5, 2008

Here is what Obama thinks about the size of our military:

Our most complex military challenge will involve putting boots on the ground in the ungoverned or hostile regions where terrorists thrive. That requires a smarter balance between what we spend on fancy hardware and what we spend on our men and women in uniform. That should mean growing the size of our armed forces to maintain reasonable rotation schedules, keeping our troops properly equipped, and training them in the skills they'll need to succeed in increasingly complex and difficult missions.

Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.307 Oct 1, 2006

This from Jack Cafferty:

Cafferty: 'Straight Talk Express wimped out.'

This week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) caved to the right wing and skipped a key vote on the economic stimulus plan, despite voicing prior support for the package. CNN's Jack Cafferty excoriated McCain for placing his personal ambitions over the public's well-being:

It was one of those moments that said quite a bit about somebody's character. What did McCain do? Nothing. He ducked. Instead of representing the people in Arizona who elected him, he simply choice not to vote at all. John McCain, pilot of the Straight Talk Express, wimped out. [...]

This makes it looks a lot like John McCain wants to be president but he can't bring himself to do the job of senator. Just another politician choosing to do what's best for him.

I could have pulled countless quotes about Hillary and Huckabee too, but there are so many of them I couldn't choose. Just remember Hillary voted for Bush's war, and the Patriot Act, and is a true war hawk. Huckabee wants to change the United States Constitution so that it becomes a Christian Constitution, so there will be no separation of religion (Christian) and government.

There is a lot to think about before November. It wouldn't hurt you a bit to take a look at Ron Paul. I don't think he will be elected, but a vote for him can make you feel good about your vote. Otherwise, Democrat or Republican, there just isn't a whole lot to feel good about.

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